Zheng Jie, left, and Li Na, Chinese female tennis athletes on the verge of stardom. Source: People's Daily

For all of about five seconds, there was discussion about an “all Chinese” final in the Australian Open. The People’s Daily newspaper had already crowned Li Na and Zheng Jie — the Chinese female tennis players who both managed to advance into the final four to play against Serena Williams and Justine Henin, respectively — “two golden flowers.”

And then it was over.

Defending champion Williams stopped 16th seeded Li Na in a two-hour match, winning 6-7 (4), 6-7 (1). If you followed ESPN‘s account of the events, Henin “thrashed a helpless” Zheng Jie, 6-1, 6-0, in a game that took less than 60 minutes to complete.

Losing in the semifinals to Williams and Henin is nothing less than stellar, as both Li Na and Zheng Jie’s march to the semifinal matches is at least commendable, possibly historic given this is the first time two Chinese players have made it this far in an Australian Open. Right now, both Li Na and Zheng Jie should be considered two tennis stars on the verge of overtaking two other records that no other Chinese tennis athlete can yet claim: breaking into the top-10 rankings or winning a Grand Slam. They’re almost there. And while almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, the two are part of a growing sports machine in China that has its athletes on their way toward star status.

It’s no secret, China enjoys its heroic athletes. Each time a Chinese athlete accomplishes another first for the country, the people are right there cheering. Nationalism aside, China is just starting to see its sports mold homegrown athletes into world superstars. In interviews with sports promoters, coaches and athletes, all have constantly repeated the mantra that once a Chinese athlete takes home the top prize in any international event, the popularity of said sport explodes.

Forgetting Yao Ming for a minute, China’s sports stars are coming through the ranks in more non-traditional sports, at least in comparison to the revenue-driven, media-savvy sense of western sports. Forget football, basketball or baseball. China is a country where diver Guo Jingjing is a goddess, snooker prodigy Ding Junhui can dominate the front of sports newspaper pages, and Liu Xiang could fill the stands at the Bird’s Nest if it was announced Beijing was about to hold an international track and field meet, all 76,000+. But you’d be hard-pressed to find the aforementioned names anywhere outside of China — discounting the 2008 Olympic Games, of course.

Bringing Yao Ming back for a moment: One has a better chance of finding a Chinese person that can recall the gold medal-winning lineup of the women’s quadruple sculls at this past Olympic Games than one does of finding someone who knows the starting lineup to Manager Yao Ming’s Shanghai Sharks basketball team. South Korean Y.E. Yang’s victory over Tiger Woods at the 2009 PGA Championship was said to be a positive for golf in China. And given China is sending world half-pipe champion Liu Jiayu to the upcoming Vancouver Winter Olympic Games, there could even be a snowboarding household name in China come March 2010.

So Li Na and Zheng Jie didn’t take home the top prize … this time. Barring a career-ending injury, the two are almost certainly destined for tennis infamy. It might be too early to place them alongside names such as Guo Jingjing, Ding Junhui, or Liu Xiang, but one might as well leave the two slots open for the tennis duo from China.

— Zachary Franklin

Links and Sources:

• People’s Daily: “Serena Williams Stops Li Na’s Fairytale Run to Reach Australian Open Final”
• People’s Daily: “China Celebrates Zheng, Li for Australian Wins”
• ESPN: “Despite Roadblocks, Justine Henin Back in Australian Open Final”

The Shanghai Sharks announced Yao Ming is not the owner of the team (Xinmin Evening News).

According to the Shanghai Daily, NBA basketball star Yao Ming is not the owner of the Shanghai Sharks, the Chinese star’s former team, and he has not been guaranteed ownership of the team.

The newspaper reported that while Yao’s management group, Team Yao, has been signed on as an “entrusted investor” for the next five years, the basketball player is officially not an owner.

Instead of transferring ownership stake of the team to Yao Ming — what was initially agreed upon — the team is instead selling those stakes on the open market. According to the Xinmin Evening News, one unnamed fitness center said it would bid.

The Shanghai Daily said the Sharks have assets estimated around 20 million USD. After the 2008 season, which saw a record 43 loses for the Sharks, the Xiyang Group refusing to continue sponsoring the team, and player’s salaries not being paid, the Sharks now find themselves at the center of the Chinese basketball world. Even more now that Yao Ming, the former center for nine seasons on the Shanghai team, is not the official owner.

— Zachary Franklin

Previously:

• What Can Yao Get from the Sharks?

As you might have been bombarded by the news, Chinese NBA star Yao Ming is buying his former CBA team, the Shanghai Sharks. The team finished the second last in the 08-09 season, the worst ever result in club’s history.

“As a Shanghainese, I’m emotionally attached to the team,” Yao was quoted as saying by a state-owned television station. “The club is now in a difficult situation and I hope I can do something to help.”

It’s such a good thing to do when you can help your former teammates. But what can Yao get from the Sharks?

1. Attention

Attention, one of the things that Yao never lacked since entering the NBA in 2002. But last month, Yao’s left foot injury was described as “career-threatening” by Tom Clanton, the Houston Rokets physician, a tragic news for the 28-year-old. The big man is not likely to get back on court soon, which means he will be away from Chinese media coverage for some time. By acquiring the Sharks, Yao’s presence can definitely reignite the Luwan Stadium and the new position to keep him in the limelight of Chinese media for seasons, if not decades. Once Yao retires, he’s name will still be held by new basketball fans in the Middle Kingdom.

2. Connections

Yao is deemed as a savior by Shanghai Sports Bureau, the powerhouse behind the Sharks, who seemed desperate to offload the team. The Sharks has been running without a sponsor since this April. Though there’re three shareholders, Shanghai Sports Technical Institute, Shanghai Media Group and Hongqiao Airport, none of them were interested in taking care of players’ paychecks after Xiyang Group pulled back from its sponsorship plan.

“As a renowned international basketball player, Yao Ming has become a symbol of Chinese basketball and even Chinese sport. His affection to his mother team (a Chinese way of describing the first club a player played for), his achievement and his experiences and visions brought by seven years of playing in the NBA, made us think that Yao Ming is the most suitable person to take over the team…”

Above is a statement made by Yu Chen, the Shanghai Sports Bureau chief, and it’s published noticeably on the Bureau’s website this morning. Being rich is not enough to steer a CBA team, you need to be welcomed by your bureau friends. As a national hero, Yao no doubt qualifies in the department and, the new Sharks boss will enjoy the reinforced warmth and intimacy with Chinese bureaucrats.

3. Satisfaction

Seven seasons in the NBA still without a championship ring. Yao is not as lucky as Mengke Bateer and Sun Yue, who received their shiny rings respectively with the Spurs and Lakers, without even playing in the finals. Yet Yao’s fortune allows him to do something his national teammates have never dreamed of, buying his former CBA team, a team that he began to play for since 15, a jersey his father also used to wear. The pioneering buyout in China’s sports world means much more than just business to Yao and his family.

The RMB 20m acquisition of Shanghai Sharks will pave the way for whatever business Yao is planning in China. I wouldn’t be surprised if he launch his own sportswear brand in the  future. The only question left is when.

Links and Sources:

• Shanghaiist: Yao Ming buys Shanghai Sharks
• Shanghai Daily: Yao signs agreement to buy Sharks
• Time: China Fears Yao Ming Injury Could End His Career

Previously:

• Shanghai Sharks Is Struggling without Sponsor

Picture:  hoopCHINA

–-

Subscribe to our RSS feed or follow us on Twitter for more China sports news

Shanghai Sharks (上海大鲨鱼), the CBA team that developed the country’s most famous player Yao Ming, is now struggling after Xiyang Group (西洋集团), their only sponsor, pulled back from its five-year sponsorship plan. The Liaoning-based fertilizer manufacturer has been supporting Shanghai basketball since 2007 with 15 million RMB ($ 2.2 mln USD) injection a year into both of its women’s and men’s teams. While the company pays all the bills, the club is co-owned by Shanghai Sports Bureau and Shanghai Media Group, a state-owned media company.

Last November, Cong Xuedi, head coach of Shanghai Women’s Basketball Team, secretively allowed five of their first-team players to play for East China Normal University(华东师范大学) in the 7th National University Games after the club turned down the university request to borrow their players, a common practice for almost all universities that participated in the Games. Xiyang Group decided to fire Cong for disobeying their authority. But the coach was saved by Shanghai Technical Sports Institute (STSI, 上海体育职业学院,) a school under Shanghai Sports Bureau, as they hoped the women’s team can perform better in this year’s National Games under the coaching of her.

“It’s agreed that we’re responsible for managing the club,” Wang Bo, Xiyang’s representitive in Shanghai, told press last November, “things have been running on the contrary so far. We’ve talked with STSI and may stop sponsoring the team should the coach is kept at her post.” They did. And so with the men’s team after the regular season ended this March. A lowest paid player that used to make 10,000 RMB ($ 1,500 USD) a month at the Sharks can now receive only about 1,500 RMB ($ 220 USD) from the local sports bureau. It’s reportedly that some of the players can’t even pay their mortgage. “The reason we quited is that we don’t have the club ownership and managing right,” Qiu Guangchun, vice president of Xiwang Group told a Shanghai paper, “they should know why we quited.”

“CBA is not a professional league,” said Yang Yi, deputy editor-in-chief of Titan Sports to China Sports Review, “You wound’t expect to have a team like Bayi Rockets (八一火箭) in a professional league[CSR: the Bayi Rockets are an army team and is the only team with no foreign players in CBA.] Teams in a pro league should first be privately-held. CBA belongs to the government and it’s at most a half-professional league. And at least four CBA teams belong to local sports bureaus.”

“Xiyang’s withdrawal has nothing to do with the economic crisis. Shanghai Sharks is governed by the local sports bureau. The team had been neglected [by the sports bueau guys] since Yao Ming left for NBA. The leaders at the bureau turned their focus to volleyball as they thought the basketball team had no chance of winning the title without Yao,” Yang noted, “It’s not because of Shanghai’s team was bad or had no promising young players. The sport just lost their attention there. And to the sports bureau leaders, a businessman has only the right to sponsor the team but not to make any decision.”

Xiyang left Shanghai. But they’re planning on a comeback in Anshan, Liaoning Province. The Anshan Xiyang Basketball Club (鞍山西洋男篮) was established in 2006 and has been playing in NBL, the secondary league to CBA, for two seasons. The team recruited some good players from Shanghai Sharks’ youth team in 2007 and Xiyang hoped it can be promoted into CBA one day. “Eighteen teams are already too many for CBA,” said Yang, “I don’t think there will be any addition to the league. Rather, the basketball association might consider to cut some teams off.”

Previously:

• The Battle Between Fenglu Club And The Chinese Basketball Association
• Former NBA Player Bonzi Wells Released by Shanxi Zhongyu Club
• CBA Players and the Myth about the Ages Of Chinese Women Gymnasts

–-

Subscribe to our RSS feed or follow us on Twitter for more China sports news